Back in Time
by Don'tLetTheMugglesGetYouDown
Summary: DRAMIONE... This is set after the Battle of Hogwarts. All students were allowed to go back to complete their 7th year at Hogwarts, and with Hermione as the next Head Girl, what could possibly go wrong? (Even if Draco Malfoy was the next Head Boy). But a long forgotten time turner and an unexpected guest proved very shocking for both Head boy and Head Girl...
1. Chapter 1: Back to Hogwarts

**Back in Time**

 **I do not own any parts of Harry Potter, characters, places or events. This privilege entirely belongs to J.K Rowling, as she owns EVERYTHING! But, I hope you like this fan made story anyway!**

This FanFiction is set after the Battle of Hogwarts. Hermione Granger went back to complete her 7th year at Hogwarts, as did Draco Malfoy. In this, he had mostly been forgiven for his actions in cooperating with the Death Eaters, and was allowed to return to Hogwarts to continue his education. Many realised that he didn't have a choice behind his actions, and eventually came to accept him. Harry and Ron did continue to study there, as Hermione convinced them that they needed to pass their N.E.W.T.S. Everything was back to normal - well, almost anyway.

Chapter 1: Back to Hogwarts

Hermione stepped onto the familiar Hogwarts arrival platform and surveyed the surrounding area. She smiled inwardly, as her eyes scanned past the first years, all nestled together, with mixes of fear and bewilderment sweeping over their faces at once. _I remember being just like them,_ she thought, relishing the distant memory, _full of hope and potential. Dreams no more than an arms length away._ She sighed as she became more consciously aware of her surrounding again. It was Harry and Ron who had pulled her out of the dream-like memory she was indulging in.

"Hey Mione! I'm so gad to see you again." Smiled the black haired boy, pulling her close for a hug.

"And you, Harry. I feel like I haven't seen you in such a long time!" Replied Hermione, embracing Harry warmly.

The hug lasted for a few seconds longer, and then they released each other and stepped back slightly. Again, Hermione embraced another figure; Ron this time. After a few more seconds, they each stepped back and grinned at one another. They were finally back to the place where it all began. For a few moments, they all took in the memories and the significance of where they were.

Hermione finally broke the silence by addressing Harry and Ron.

"So, what have you two been up to lately. I heard you went to stay with Ron, Harry? What did you get up to?"

"Well, I did. About half way through the summer, I went to Ron's house" Harry agreed, continuing his plights of the summer, " I was getting bored at the Leaky Cauldron. I mean it was better than the Dursely's, but..." His voice began to trail off.

Ever since Harry could remember, the Dursley's had treated Harry very badly. He had been starved, humiliated and locked in a cupboard for the majority of his childhood, which still to the present day bought back some horrific memories for him.

"I see", Hermione nodded, bringing Harry's attention back to their current conversation.

Harry smiled back at her, as Ron piped up.

"Shouldn't we be getting to the great hall about now? The sorting ceremony is going to start soon - and I want to see the newest Gryffindor's" he reminded them, causing Harry and Hermione to grin simultaneously.

"What are we waiting here for." Laughed Hermione brightly, "Let's go!"

Hermione, Ron and Harry all arrived in the Great Hall 10 minutes later, just in time to watch the opening ceremony. They took their seats with the rest of the Gryffindor's as Professor McGonagall took to the podium to give her yearly speech.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts," she began, her comforting voice stretching across to the four corners of the room, "I trust that you have had an excellent summer break. Now, to our new students, we welcome you to Hogwarts, and to our older students, we welcome you back."

"Now, I must remind you that that Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Another notice that I have been asked to tell you is from Mr Filch. His message is to remind you that the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."

Professor McGonagall's eyes twinkled as she relayed the last message to the students; the older students all grinning as they were reminded once more of the danger.

Once she had spoken, the sorting ceremony could officially begin. She stepped away from the podium, and into the centre of the stage. The first year students watched in awe as she flicked her wrist, and a small stool appeared where she stood. Shortly followed by that was a grungy looking hat, and a long list of names. The sorting ceremony took place without a hitch.

Once all of the new students had found their house, McGonagall once more approached the podium, and the hall silenced.

"Now, I would like to give my congratulations to the new head of prefects. Please welcome our new Head Boy and Head Girl to the stage. They are no other than Miss Hermione Granger and Mister Draco Malfoy!"

The hall erupted in a cheer as Hermione tried to casually stand up from the bench, that was encased too close to the table. Her eyes twinkled as she reached the centre of the podium, to stand next to Professor McGonagall. She smiled at her, reaching her hand out to shake Hermione's, as she pressed the pin to her tie.

She had received the pin weeks ago, alerting her of her new authority in the school, yet she felt it to be unfitting to put it on anywhere except for Hogwarts. She had managed to keep it a secret from Ron and Harry all throughout the summer, yet they still didn't look very surprised when Hermione was announced as the next Head Girl. It was almost to be expected of her, being the 'brightest witch of her age' and all. Still, this didn't stop them from erupting in a terribly loud cheer as Hermione's cheeks flushed a scarlet red.

Draco was standing directly behind Hermione, already wearing his glistening Head Boy badge, just above his Slytherin tie pin. He too had shook hands with McGonagall and took his place beside Hermione to be congratulated by the rest of the students once more. Hermione continued to smile, her cheeks now a burning red, while Draco simply smirked, trying to consider all of the advantages his new found power would bring him. Once the hall had settled down, Professor McGonagall continued her speech.

"It is with great honour and privilege that I announce these students as the Head Boy and Head Girl. However, now without further ado, I officially open the great feast."

With a swish of McGonagall's wand, each and every table was lined with glorious looking food and sweets. The smell emanating from the hall was divine. From this, the students needed no further prompting and immediately dove in for the food. Chatter began to rise up from the students gleefully talking among themselves as Hermione and Draco looked over. This was the Hogwarts that they had wanted to remember.

Once Hermione had reached the Gryffindor table, she settled back in between Ron and Harry, who were already enjoying a selection of sandwiches, cakes and other delightful foods that were in their reach. However, as soon as Hermione sat down, both boys looked up at her expectantly.

"So, Hermione," Ron started, gesturing his eyes to the gleaming pin proudly conveyed on her tie, "How long have you known?"

"Known what?" Hermione asked, trying to avoid the subject, reaching over to grab an apple from the fruit bowl.

"Oh, don't play stupid with me, Mione. We're really happy for you. But why didn't you tell us sooner? Like as soon as you found out?"

Hermione bit her apple slowly, trying to consider the safest way out of her predicament without hurting either of her friends feelings.

"I didn't want to say anything because I wanted to make it a surprise - for everyone. Including you two." Hermione remarked, gesturing towards her two best friends.

Both Harry and Ron smiled acceptingly at Hermione, and returned to their food. They all ate in silence for a few minutes, before Ron spoke up.

"So, I guess you will be working with Draco now, huh? That's going to be a challenge. If it was me, I would have already Avada-ed myself. Ferret."

Hermione laughed quietly, looking up at Ron, who was grimacing at the non-existent thought of him working with Draco.

"Oh, Ronald. You are so dramatic - I mean, it's not like I've got to live with him. We just have to work together to make sure the prefect team is run right. It can't be that bad."

"Suit yourself, Mione. As for me though - well, I've told you what I think. Just don't let him get to you, that's all."

Hermione smiled as Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron, although it was thankfully unseen

by him as he turned back to the food on his plate.

By the time the students had finished eating, it was already getting late. The sky outside had gone from a light blue to an inky black, and stars had begun to emerge from behind the clouds. At the notice of this, Professor McGonagall stood up and reached the podium to make one final announcement for the night.

"Now that the plates have cleared, you may leave and head off to your dormitories. Lights out are at 9.30pm for first to third years. For the rest, I expect all lights are out by 10 o'clock. Is that understood? Now, I would like the first years to remain seated, and the prefects to remain seated please. The rest of you may go."

As soon as the professor had said that, the noise of the great hall increased dramatically as the benches shuffled across the slate flooring. Chatter began to rise, as the majority of the students quickly exited the hall, and turned to their houses. By the time it had settled down again, only the prefects and first years were left in the hall.

"Now, prefects. Draco and Hermione will lead you. I expect that you will have a meeting tomorrow, however, you must confirm this with either Draco or Hermione. Now, please assist these first years down to their dormitories and show them where to go. I expect you already know the passwords so I won't need to bother there. Okay, I think that is it. Goodnight."

The prefects began to depart from the hall, each trailing behind them three or four first years who were incoherently chatting, and trying to avoid getting lost. The last people who were about to leave were Hermione and Draco, but were abruptly stopped when professor McGonagall called them back.

"Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy. I expect you have realised it now, but I will notify you anyway. You will not go back to your dormitories now. You both have allocated rooms in the Head dormitories, and you will share a common room that is exclusive for you two. I hope you will find this dormitory to your taste. The password is Papillon. You will look for the painting of a young boy with a dog. That is where you dormitory is located. I look forward to seeing you in the morning. Goodnight."

With that, Professor McGonagall waved her hand dismissively at the two students who stood staring at her. However, as soon as she had waved them away, they each turned and strode out of the Great Hall and along the corridor in hope that their dorm wasn't too far away.

By the time they had found it, it was already 9.15pm. Hermione muttered the password to the little boy, and he obligated and swung open almost immediately. Hermione stepped into the room first, quickly followed by Draco. Inside was very cheerful; a roaring fire, several puffy chairs and a fur rug. Behind this, there were two desks, side by side, with two wooden chairs tucked into them. Each held several pieces of parchment, a selection of different quills and a few bottles of ink for their disposal. Beside this rested two oak doors. Inside each, there was a beautifully made up bed, a small chest of belongings and a bedside table, on which rested an elegant candle. All in all, the rooms were spectacular, even down to the smallest details.

Both Hermione and Draco spent a few more minutes admiring their rooms, and the shared common room. It took a few seconds for Hermione to speak up and interrupt the awkward silence between them both.

"It's a very nice room. Which do you think is your room?" She asked, gesturing towards the half open doors.

"Well, I think that would be pretty obvious if you had a look inside." Draco retorted, "Our stuff is already in there, anyway."

Hermione grimaced as she nodded at Draco, reaching for the door handle that was in front of her. She pulled open the door, and headed straight for the chest. She pulled the latch open and lifted it slowly up, half expecting to see Draco's clothes staring back at her. But, no. It was her chest, thankfully. This meant that she was in the correct room, and the bed really was hers. She took in a few seconds to admire the room, beautifully decorated and the candle cast a soft glow across the room.

By the time she had re-emerged from her room, Draco was already standing in the common room, staring intently into the fireplace. The constant crackle was a comforting sound, and almost eased the tense silence between them. Draco sighed quietly as he made his way over to one of the puffier looking chairs, and quickly sat on the edge. His elbows were resting on his knees as he leaned forward into the flames, continuing to stare at the flickering pattern. For a few moments, everything was calm. Everything was going to be alright. Hermione almost smiled as she eased into one of the chairs opposite Draco, and tucked her legs up behind her. Draco looked up at Hermione, she already seemed so settled, so confident that she was doing the right thing.

"Mu-" Draco started, quickly trying to deter himself from the childish phrase he had been bought up with, "Granger?"

"Hm." Hermione responded, almost oblivious to the fact that he was talking to her.

"Why are you here?" Draco sighed, trying to avert his eyes away from Hermione's face.

"What do you mean?" Hermione shot back, beginning to become defensive.

"I mean as Head Girl, and all. You must have realised that you would be working with me. Surely it must have been obvious."

"I did think that it would be a distinct possibility." Hermione replied, calming her voice to more of a whisper now, "But what would have give you the impression that you would have been Head Boy, no matter what?"

Draco rolled his eyes, and sat back more into his chair.

"And why wouldn't I have been? My family has a lot of power and influence. I suppose that it was only a matter of time, really."

"So that's what this is? You felt you were _entitled_ to it?" Hermione laughed sarcastically.

"No, not that. I just knew that it was inevitable. My father being who he is an all. As I said, we have a lot of power and influence. But that brings me back to my original question, why are you here?"

"I've told you, Malfoy." Replied Hermione sharply, "I'm here because I want to look out for the school, and be responsible. Besides, unlike some people, my _daddy_ didn't have to buy my way in."

Draco rolled his eyes again, but continued anyway.

"Whatever, Granger. My point being, however, is why do you accept working with me. I know that, after all these years, you truly do despise me. So why are you acting so - so, civil?"

Hermione shot up on her chair, and looked directly at Draco, who was still looking down at the ground.

"I never once said I despise you. I suppose that was your own judgement."

As Hermione said that, Draco looked back up at her, as she carried on speaking.

"In fact, I have rather come to respect you. Yes, you can be very childish and immature, but you are loyal, and that is something I respect. I think that we will be able to get along, Malfoy. Just please try."

Draco looked back at the floor again, to try and avoid Hermione's soft smile.

"I suppose." Malfoy replied, glumly.

Hermione smiled back at Draco, before standing up from the chair, and began walking towards her bedroom door.

"Goodnight, Malfoy." She nodded.

"Goodnight, Granger." Draco smiled back.

Hermione began to undress and change into her pyjamas, as she shuffled into her bed. She softly blew out her candle beside her bed, and closed her eyes. From behind her closed door, she could hear Draco shuffling around to his own bed, and trying to close his door as silently as he could. Hermione smiled to herself in the darkness, as she tried to picture Draco almost prancing around the floor, trying not to make the floorboards squeak on the way to his bed. After a few seconds, everything went silent again, and Hermione breathed in deeply.

She closed her eyes once more, listening for any sounds. Just as she began to fall asleep, she heard a very soft voice mutter, "Goodnight, _Hermione_ " from beyond the wall. Hermione's cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink, as she recognised Draco's voice. She smiled, and softly fell asleep; a light, rested sleep.

 **Author's Notice**

Hey! I really hope that you have enjoyed this first chapter. I really have enjoyed writing it! This is my first Fanfiction and I don't really know what you guys will make of it - so please review! I have decided that, for the mean time, I will try and solely work on this fic alone to see how much of it I can get done. I don't really know how often I will be able to upload a new chapter, but I will try and aim for every fortnight (that's 2 weeks).

Also, I don't really know if this is a good length for a chapter (Do you guys want it a bit longer or a bit shorter?) I will try and keep consistency with it though, so each chapter will probably be about the same length. I really hope you liked this chapter, and I will continue to write the next ones in my next update.

Thanks, guys! C x


	2. Chapter 2: What's wrong this time?

**I do not own any parts of Harry Potter, characters, places or events. This privilege entirely belongs to J.K Rowling, as she owns EVERYTHING! But, I hope you like this fan made story anyway!**

Chapter 2: What's wrong this time?

By the time Hermione had awoke, soft beams of sunlight were seeping through her window. The whole room was illuminated by the bright glow of the sun, which was still creeping past Hermione's eyes, as she flickered them open. She listened to the soft tweets of the birds outside of her window for a few seconds, trying to persuade herself to leave the warmth of her bed. She contemplated this for a few seconds longer, before swinging her legs over the side of the bed, and stepping onto the thick carpet beneath her feet. As she stood up, she stretched her arms above her head, and arched back her shoulders, in an attempt to remove the stiffness in her neck. Once she was satisfied that she had full control over her neck again, she stretched for her wand on the bedside counter. With a flick of her wrist (and the call of 'accio daytime clothes') she was completely dressed in a pale tee-shirt and a faded pair of blue jeans. She looked in the mirror opposite her bed, and smiled as she reached for the door handle, and made her way out into the common room.

By the time she had made it out of her room, she noticed that Draco was already sitting in the common room, dressed in a pair of black jeans, and a bright white tee shirt.

"Good morning." Hermione smiled, "Did you have a good sleep?"

Draco mumbled an inaudible reply as Hermione positioned herself once more on a chair opposite Draco.

"Okay then," Hermione said after a few moments in silence, "I am guessing you're not a morning person?"

Another muffled reply came from Draco as he stared up at the ceiling, concentrating on the patterns of the tiles. Hermione shrugged, and eased herself up from the chair, and over towards a book case, nestled beside one of the desks.

"Do you mind if I read for a while? Breakfast doesn't start for another hour, and I would really like to catch up on some light reading, if you don't mind." Hermione grinned, flicking through a collection of modern and antique books.

"Whatever, Granger." Draco mumbled.

Hermione smiled. At least he was paying attention to what she was saying, even if he didn't really seem to care about it. At last, Hermione chose a worn copy of Jane Eyre and headed back to her seat. Draco looked up as she picked the book up to her line of sight.

"What's that, Granger?" Draco asked inquisitively, although trying to hide it with strong hints of boredom in his voice.

"Hmm?" Hermione asked, pulling herself away from the book, "Oh, this is Jane Eyre. It's about an orphaned girl who lives with her cruel aunt in the nineteenth century, until she gets sent to a spiritual school. She does well, and soon leaves to become a governor, which is where she meets Mr. Edward Rochester. She falls in love, but he had tricked her, so Jane goes to a place to help her become spiritually and mentally in contact with her true self again. By the end, she has become a very strong and independent woman."

"So basically, it's a muggle book? Just an _old_ muggle book?"

"Well, yes. It is a muggle book, but it holds a very powerful message. About respect and self worth."

Draco rolled his eyes at Hermione, who was becoming more defensive about the fragile book that she was holding in her hands.

"Whatever, Granger." Draco repeated, tilting his head back towards the ceiling, and staring at the same spot.

At last, Hermione felt that she had won the argument, and had _almost_ convinced Draco that it was a worthwhile book. She looked back down at the pages she was holding in her hand, and opened it to page one where she began to read.

An hour had quickly passed as Hermione indulged in the pages of Jane Eyre. Draco had yet to have given up on staring at the ceiling, and was still sitting there, unmoved, as Hermione finally set the book on one of the desks.

"Draco." She said softly, trying to determine whether he was still awake or not, "Are you awake?"

"Hmm. Yeah." Draco replied, equally as softly, "Yeah, I'm awake."

"Well, it's just turned eight o'clock. They will have started serving breakfast about now. I'm going to be heading down. Are you coming?"

Draco nodded, and slowly stood up from the chair, making his way towards the painting covered door. Draco quickly pushed forward, and the painting swung open, allowing enough time for Hermione and Draco to get through, before shutting behind them.

It was a rather short walk back to the great hall, and although they both walked in silence, it seemed to be much less tense than the night before. Hermione took the lead down the corridor, shortly followed by Draco, who had to quicken his pace every few seconds to keep up. After several turns and twists down the corridor, they finally made it to the magnificent doors of the Great Hall. They managed to enter, almost unseen, along with a number of first years, who were weaving in and out of the taller students. It took both Hermione and Draco a few minutes to actually find their house tables, and sit with their friends.

Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table, beside Harry and Ron. Ginny sat opposite the three, carefully trying to listen into their conversations.

"Good morning, Mione." Smiled Harry.

"Good morning Harry. Ron. Ginny." Hermione replied, smiling at the three people who were curiously looking at her.

"So, Mione. Where were you last night?" Harry asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Oh, yeah. About that." Hermione muttered, trying to avoid the three pairs of prosecuting eyes that were burning into her, "I was in the Head Dorms."

Harry winced slightly as she said this, and Ron let out a soft growl. Ginny raised an eyebrow at her reply, but chose to say nothing in return.

"So, I guess you will be staying there for the whole of the year?" Ron muttered, a sense of hostility in his voice.

"Yeah, I guess I will be." Hermione nodded back, reaching for a piece of toast from across the table.

Ron was about to reply with a malicious retort, as Professor McGonagall approached the podium, and coughed slightly. The whole hall settled into a whispered silence, as she began to speak.

"Good morning, students. I expect that you have had a good nights sleep. Tomorrow is the first official day of lessons, so we expect you to all be prepared for that. I will be passing the timetables around shortly for you to glance at in your leisure time. Now, that is noted, I would like to remind the prefects that they will have a meeting today, to be confirmed by Draco or Hermione. Please keep this in mind before planning any activities for the day which would mean that you are unable to attend it. Now, your first and foremost responsibility is to be a well behaved, and punctual member of the student prefects. Thank you, and enjoy your breakfast."

With that, Professor McGonagall turned around and swished her cape. As she was turning back to the professors table, she quickly flicked her wrist, extending her polished wand in her hand. With that, each student had a thin piece of parchment laying in front of them with several different classes on. By the time McGonagall had taken her seat again, the chatter in the hall had increased dramatically as the students discussed their new classes and free periods.

Ron, Harry and Hermione all picked their sheets up simultaneously, and began to survey their classes. Ron and Harry had been put together for most of theirs; charms, transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, and Defence against the Dark Arts. Hermione on the other hand took a few extra classes which included Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, History of Magic, Herbology, Astronomy, Potions, and Ancient Runes. Both Ron and Harry shook their heads in disgust as they glanced over to Hermione's timetable. _Ten classes? What was she thinking?_ In return of their disgusted glares, Hermione just grinned and nodded her head.

"It's rather easy once you get used to it." Hermione informed them, "As long as you can keep up on your homework and studies, well, then it's just a walk in the park."

"Yeah, right." Ron scoffed, seemingly more cheered up about the incident before, "For you, maybe. But for us mere mortals, well, that's like defeating the Dark Lord as a baby."

Ron glanced at Harry, who had a half-smug, half-impressed grin on his face at the sound of his reference. Hermione let out a short laugh, and turned back to her timetable.

"Well, that's a good thing you aren't taking ten classes, then isn't it?" Hermione laughed as she stretched her arm across Ron to grab his piece of parchment from his hands. She took a few seconds to glance over it before staring back at her two best friends.

"Well, at least no one is taking Divination this year," she concluded, passing the timetable back to Ron's outstretched hand, "What a load of rubbish that was. I think my IQ actually went down in that class."

"IQ?" Ron asked sceptically, "What the hell is that?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, as she proceeded to inform Ron and Ginny what IQ was.

"Basically," Hermione finally concluded, "It is a way for muggles to measure their intelligence. The higher the IQ, the clever you usually are. The test, is however, taken from a persons reasoning ability, like how much common sense they have. It isn't really a test that you can be taught for, just to see how generally intelligent you are."

The two slowly nodded, trying to decide in their own heads if that was actually a useful concept, or another 'recreational task' that muggles chose to do in their spare time. However, instead of pressing the matter, Ron let it go. The last thing he wanted was a lecture from Hermione about muggle IQ, and the whole history of it. It was a Sunday! From this, he turned back to Hermione and nodded, trying to persuade her that he understood enough to let the matter drop. Hermione quickly took the hint and turned back to the piece of half eaten toast on her plate.

By the time she had finished her last bite, she noticed a curious looking Malfoy bending beside her shoulder.

"Do you mind, Malfoy?" Ron snarled, "We are trying to have our breakfast in peace, without any suspicious Slytherin's crawling around."

Draco sighed heavily, and narrowed his eyes at Ron.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Weasel. Do you know why? I really don't care. However, I do have to speak with Granger. You remember - the fact that she is Head Girl and _I'm_ Head Boy?"

Ron growled deeply at Draco, who was already grinning at the fact that he had wound up Ron so easily. All he had to do was mention Hermione...

Hermione quickly noticed the uneasy tension brewing on the table, and stepped in between the two boys. She turned to Ron first.

"Ron. I know that you are just trying to look out for me, and I would usually accept this gratefully, however, Draco does have a point."

Ron gawked at her for a few seconds, waiting for her to continue.

"He is the Head Boy, and I am the Head Girl. Sometimes, we do need to have conversations to make sure that everything runs smoothly, else, really, it's just the blind leading the blind."

Ron shook his head in disbelief. _Was Hermione Granger really siding with Draco Malfoy? What kind of sick, messed up world is this?_ In response, Draco just shrugged his shoulders, and smirked at Ron, who still had his mouth wide open.

"As for you, Draco. You need to leave Ron alone. He hasn't done anything to you, and therefore, you have no right to do anything to him. He is just sticking up for me, after all, like a good friend should. If you really wanted to talk to me, you could have waited until after breakfast. We have got to have a meeting anyway. Besides, I think that the other Gryffindor's already resent your presence, so why don't you go back to the Slytherin table, and we will talk later. When we have the prefect meeting."

Draco let out an exasperated sigh, and dropped his smirk from his face. With that, he quickly turned around, and swished his cape behind him, before stalking back to his own table. Hermione sighed deeply as he was out of sight. Harry had a huge grin on his face, and Ginny was badly trying to conceal a smirk.

"Wow, Mione. I didn't know you were that - how do I phase this politely - badass! I didn't know anyone could make the 'high and mighty' Malfoy look that deflated. That sure wiped the smirk right off of his face!" Harry enthused, trying to contain his shock and excitement both at the same time.

Hermione simply smiled in reply as she turned back to a stony faced Ron, who had reverted back to his original, sour mood. Facing the fact that she knew there was no way that she could cheer him up, she focused on Ginny and Harry.

"So, Ginny," she began, "What classes will you be taking this year?"

Ginny glanced back down at the, now crumpled, piece of parchment resting in front of her.

"Oh, I've got Charms, and Defence against the Dark Arts. Oh, and look, Divination!"

Hermione stopped for a few seconds, a look of pure bewilderment crossing her face.

"You actually enjoy that - that nonsense?" She asked, unable to comprehend the fact that anyone could possibly endure the mind-numbing stupidity of the hocus pocus that Professor Trelawney was dishing out.

"Yeah. It's rather interesting, once you look past the death warnings and bad omens she refers to every five minutes. That can be a little... Off putting." Ginny admitted, laughing at Hermione's confused face.

"Well, I guess. But you wouldn't catch me doing any of that!"

Ginny laughed even harder at Hermione's last statement.

"You are starting to sound just like Ron!"

Hermione shuddered slightly. _Sound like Ron? No offence to him an all, but he has the intelligence of a - a bewitched goldfish! Then again, if he is siding with me on the Divination thing, can he really be that daft?_ Hermione pulled herself back to Ginny's smiling face, and forced herself to grin back.

After a few more minutes of Ron sitting silently, refusing to talk to anybody, and Harry, Ginny and Hermione engaging in some mindless small talk, Professor McGonagall sounded a chime to notify the students that the food would be about to be cleared away. Hermione released the buttered croissant that she had in her hand onto the plate, and watched it disappear, along with the other plates and cutlery that crowed the table. Ginny and Harry watched carefully as Hermione stood up from the table, picked up her piece of parchment and waved goodbye to them.

"I really have to go now," Hermione started, glancing at an impatient Draco, lurking at the end of the Slytherin table.

"That's fine, Mione." Smiled Harry in response, also taking note of Draco's impatience.

Ginny grinned as Hermione departed from the Gryffindor table and stalked towards the Slytherin table. Ron simply glowered; not so much at Hermione, but at the grinning Draco, eagerly awaiting her presence.

By the time Hermione had made her way over to Draco, a group of prefects had also managed to surround her, and began to ask her questions all at once. The group was lead by Pansy, who had managed to get there by pushing the other students out of the way. Hermione took a step back to try and comprehend the amount of people that had suddenly swarmed her in such little time.

"Prefects! Please take your seat!" Hermione tried to yell, her voice catching at the end of her sentence.

The prefects didn't seem to take any notice, and continued to dot around, throwing questions at Hermione. Draco stood just out of the way of the crowd, glancing at Hermione's flustered face.

"Okay, everyone!" Draco yelled, several decibels higher that Hermione's, "The Head Girl has said to sit down, so I suggest that you all sit down. Now."

With that, every single one of the prefects immediately came into silence following Draco's call. Hermione sighed a deep breath of relief as she managed to regain her own thoughts.

"Thank you, Draco. Now, as I was saying, once the hall clears, I will give you your instructions, and the time and place of the prefect meetings. You just have to be patient for a few more minutes, and then you will find out everything that you need to do. Just remain seated for a bit longer, please."

The prefects looked at one another, slowly, but didn't utter another word. Draco stood just behind Hermione, his arms crossed tightly, scowling at anyone who went against what she had said.

At last, the hall began to slowly clear as Professor McGonagall released the students, year by year. It too a few minutes for the hall to become completely empty, apart from the prefects, and McGonagall, standing beside the podium. Hermione walked up to her, quickly followed by Draco, who had noticed that she had stepped away from the prefects.

"Professor," Hermione began, "We are going to discuss the main responsibilities in the hall. Now, if that's okay. I think that we are going to hold the meeting about half past one, just after lunch. This will give me and Draco chance to prepare the rotors and the pairings before hand."

Professor McGonagall thought for a second, and nodded in reply.

"Granger, where are you going to be holding these meetings?" McGonagall asked, innocently curious.

"Well, I think thinking that we could have them in Prefect common room. The dorms are only along the corridor, so they will have no excuse to be late - or not turn up at all."

McGonagall smiled at Hermione, as she began to descend from the platform of the podium to flat of the hall. She swished her cape behind her, as the students quietly watched her head out from the hall and into the corridor, before closing the door softly behind her. By the time that she had left the room, both Draco and Hermione were standing side by side at the podium.

"Okay, prefects. I'm really glad that you have stayed behind just now, which shows that you have the responsibility to give up your free time for the better of the school. I know that each and every one of you will make amazing prefects. However, now, we must get on to the slightly more tedious task of going the rules you are expected to abide by as a prefect."

Draco raised an eyebrow as he watched Hermione speak; her voice was clear and confident - she clearly knew what she was talking about. As Hermione ran through the rules, some of the prefects chose to write them down, and some just stood and listened. Every now and again, Draco nodded his head slightly, to show that he was listening to what she was saying, and also agreed with her decisions.

"Okay. Now you have all of the rules, I want to inform you of our official meeting time and place. I have thought that we could meet twice a week; once on a Sunday and once on a Wednesday. Each time, we will meet in the Prefect Common room at one thirty."

Some of the prefects cast confused glances at one another, and at the Heads, as they recalled their timetable. Hermione, realising the problem, began to reassure them.

"For those of you that do not have a free period on a Wednesday after dinner, your teachers will be alerted of your whereabouts and will excuse you for your lateness."

The students grinned at one another, and at the thought of skipping classes, even if it was to go to some prefect meeting.

"However," Hermione continued, "You do not get off because you have missed the start of your class. I will assume that you will receive extra work to fill up for the time that you have missed, which will be completed in your spare time. Please remember to do this work; a prefect should not be getting detentions."

With that concluded, Hermione glanced at Draco, who was now casually leaning against the side of the podium, with his arms still firmly crossed.

"Draco. Do you have anything else to say?" Hermione asked, causing Draco to quickly stand back up and lean on his own two feet.

"Uh, no. No. I think you have covered, it Granger."

Hermione grinned lightly, as she alerted the prefects that they could leave.

"Make sure that you are in the prefect common room at half past one." She reminded them, as they began to head out of the door.

By the time that they had all left, it was Hermione and Draco left in the silence of the hall. Draco had jumped down from the podium, and landed with a quiet thud onto the floor of the hall. As soon as he had done this, he reached for Hermione's hand to assist her down. Dubiously, she took his hand, and walked down the the floor.

"I will never understand you, Malfoy." She sighed, "One minute you are incredibly, well, _sweet._ And then the next minute you are back to your egotistic self. I just don't understand."

Draco half grinned and half smirked at Hermione's observation. He didn't intentional try to be _egotistic,_ it was just something that made him, him.

"I do have a reputation to uphold, Granger. I do have to watch out for the Malfoy last name. But, you are right, I guess I do have a little bit of a soft spot." Draco admitted, dropping his head in pretend shame.

Hermione laughed, raising her eyebrow at Draco's reply. _A soft spot? Draco Malfoy has a soft spot?_ The more she said it in her head, the funnier it sounded, but the more sense it made.

"Yes, well a soft spot is good. As long as you don't tarnish the Malfoy reputation." She teased, causing Draco to lift his head up and grin back at her.

They laughed, close to tears, as the left the hall together. From someone who didn't know any better, they could have been two best friends who had known each other for years. They looked so happy together.

By the time they had reached the corridor, they were still mercilessly laughing. Hermione was clutching her stomach, and Draco was holding her arm, unsteadily. They continued in this stance for a few seconds longer until Professor McGonagall hastily rounded the corridor. The pair quickly stood up and brushed themselves off, as the watch McGonagall quickly advance on them. As she got closer, they noticed her panic-stricken eyes, and her face almost contorted in pain. Her skin seemed much paler, and she almost trembled as she walked towards them.

"Professor." Hermione started, alarmed by the look in her eyes. "Are you okay? Is everything alright?"

Professor McGonagall shook her head rapidly, and hastened her last few steps towards Draco and Hermione.

"You two need to come with me. Now. There's someone in my office who needs to see you urgently. This is already out of my depths." McGonagall said, her voice trembling.

Hermione's and Draco's face both seemed to loose colour at the same time, as they imagined the worst possible scenario waiting for them in Professor McGonagall's office. _What could have possibly gone wrong? It was only their first day_. The sharp, yet worried look in Professor McGonagall's eyes alerted them that they needed to get the the office, and quickly. There was a serious problem...

 **Authors Notice**

I really hope that you have enjoyed reading this second chapter. For me, writing this was even better than the first because I got to introduce more - (and even a cliff hanger!) I know I said that I would update *MUCH* less frequently, but I thought that I might as well because this chapter was already written anyway, and I am going on holiday in two days and so won't have ANY chance to update. I thought you would probably want the chapter before that, so you didn't think I had given up on it! So I really hope that you have enjoyed this - and my next update will be chapter 3, the resolution to the cliff hanger (although, I am guessing most of you have already worked out what it will be!) Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW!

One more point - I know I said that I would try and keep consistency with the chapters, but I felt this one had to be a bit longer to be able to include everything I needed to (like Ron's little outbursts of jealousy.) Hope you have enjoyed it so far! See you next update and please review this one!

Thanks, Guys! C x


	3. Chapter 3: Who is this?

Chapter 3: Who is this?

Hermione quickly turned the sharp corner leading into McGonagall's office. Almost immediately, she was taken aback by the shear luxury of it. There were several elegant pictures which graced the walls, and four equal length candles that were casting a warm glow across the room. A roaring fireplace crackled merrily. At the far end of her office there was a velvet red chair, carefully pushed into a carved, mahogany desk. She managed to avert her eyes away from staring as McGonagall and Draco strode in at exactly the same time.

"What is wrong then, Professor?" Draco asked, seeming almost impatient, as he tried to hide a look of worry that was spreading across his face.

McGonagall frowned at Draco, her eyes glaring bleakly, warning him that this was really a serious situation. Draco sighed, heavily at first, but unable to maintain it as it turned into a half-wheeze. Hermione looked more fearful of the situation _. McGonagall wouldn't have called them here unless it was really important. It was only their first day!_ They all managed to stay in silence for a few seconds longer, almost unwilling to ask any more questions than they had to. It was from this that they first heard a gentle sobbing sound from behind McGonagall's desk.

The room went to an almost eerie silence as the three figures listened to the soft cries, and occasional sniffles from the other side of the desk. Hermione's eyes narrowed; being both curious and dubious about the mysterious sobs. McGonagall, noticing Hermione's curious expression, gestured forward.

"Miss Granger, I assume that you want to have a look?," McGonagall said as she carefully raised her hand to her desk, "I suggest you have a look too, Mister Malfoy. This matter concerns you."

Hermione and Draco edged towards the desk, trying to make no more than a soft shuffle from their footsteps. As they approached the edge, the sobbing ceased, and became more of a stifled sniffle. Hermione was the first to bend down, to peer over the other side.

A small child was nestled underneath the desk, his eyes raw red, and his cheeks, puffy and swollen. His skin seemed to be almost chalky white, except, it was hard to tell from the patch tear stains. His blonde hair was slightly ruffled, although carefully combed and parted. The child's whole body was haunched over itself, with his legs curled up into his arms, and his shoulders facing away from the two curious pairs of eyes.

Hermione watched in silence for a few seconds, unsure what she could do. She almost wanted to reach out to the child, hug him, and reassure him that everything was going to be okay. Then the more logical side of her began asking questions: _who is this child? What has he got to do with us? How did he get here?_ She couldn't seem to find the right actions other than to stare at the small boy, who was almost cowering beneath the desk.

She looked back up to Professor McGonagall, whose face was still pasty white from the original shock. She had stopped trembling, however she still looked terribly uneasy about the whole situation. Hermione then turned back to Draco, who was staring at the child with intense curiosity; his eyes occasionally flickering back to her facial expressions.

"Professor," Hermione asked as softly as she could, "Who is this child?"

Professor McGonagall's brow creased with worry, as she began to explain the predicament to Hermione.

"You see, Miss Granger," She replied, only just loud enough for the two to hear, "That is the problem. I assume that Draco only knows this child too well. When he first 'arrived', I was sitting alone at my desk sorting through some of my old documents, when a soft flash of light interrupted my thoughts. By the time I had looked up, a small child was sitting almost in the middle of my floor."

Professor McGonagall's eyes glanced down, to indicate that this was the small boy. Hermione softly nodded, to try and encourage her to finish the rest of the story.

"Well, this is where it gets complicated," She continued in the same tone as before, "I went over to the child, who seemed to be in more of a shock than I was. As I reached his side, I saw that he was holding something."

Professor McGonagall stopped talking and inched towards the bookcase on her right hand side. She flicked her wand out from beneath her robes and aimed it towards the gleaming object sitting on the shelf. With a flick of her wrist, the object began to slowly rise up to reveal itself. It was a TimeTurner. The gold colouring was partially faded, but other than that, it looked brand-new. Draco and Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"This is no ordinary TimeTurner, if you will. I fear this one has been bewitched, and, although I am no charms expert, I am quite positive of my analysis. That is how the child got here, and why he hasn't returned yet. As of now, I am unsure about the charm that has been cast on the TimeTurner, and so, know nothing about the effects of it. For all we know, he could be transported back to his own time at any point. These are very odd circumstances." Professor McGonagall informed them, keeping a close eye on the levitating TimeTurner at the end of her wand.

 _If the TimeTurner was bewitched, then this child could have come from any time in the future. A normal TimeTurner should only have a capacity of five minutes, or just over. This TimeTurner clearly has a longer capacity, which could keep the child here for who knows how long. Still, why is this our concern?_ Hermione's eyes narrowed in concentration at all of the thoughts spiralling her mind. Each idea was trying to be comprehended in a logical way, however it was almost impossible for Hermione to focus on a single thought. McGonagall coughed slightly, which bought Hermione's attention back to the problem at hand.

"Before I went to get you two, I had a little talk with the boy. He won't say much, but he did manage to tell me his name - and his age. The child is five years old - poor thing - and called Adrian. Adrian Malfoy."

Draco's eyes widened dramatically as McGonagall spoke his surname. He began to listen more intently to what she had to say, now trying to comprehend his own thoughts.

"He's a _Malfoy_?" Draco hissed, his voice more malicious than originally intended.

Professor McGonagall nodded curtly, as the remaining colour ebbed away from Draco's face. She swiftly turned back to Hermione, who had almost turned the same shade as Draco.

"Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall started, "This does concern you, too. I have had a glance over this particular TimeTurner, and it appears that this one had in fact belonged to you. This all may be a large coincidence, but in this case, with such unusual occurrences, I cannot afford to take any chances."

Hermione nodded slowly as she took a better look at the still levitating TimeTurner. Just as Professor McGonagall had said - this really was Hermione's TimeTurner. The encrypted inscription clearly visible; _I mark the hours, every one, Nor have I yet outrun the Sun. My use and value, unto you, Are gauged by what you have to do._

"Professor, I don't understand. I thought that all of the TimeTurner's were destroyed in the battle. Why has this one survived? And how did a child, of all people, manage to get hold of it? Are you implying that this child is basically from the _future?_ " Hermione asked, uncharacteristically puzzled.

"Yes. I believe that, theoretically, this child has come from the future. As for the time turner, well I believe I have the story for that, too. At the end of your studies, I gave it back to the Ministry. It was supposed to be put back with the rest of the archived ones, however, I have reason to believe that this particular one was kept aside, and possibly placed in your own file for future reference to it. This isn't uncommon, you know." McGonagall tried to explain to the frustrated Hermione.

"Okay, I understand that," Hermione finally sighed, "But how did a child manage to get hold of it? Shouldn't there have been charms and bewitchments to stop this kind of thing from ever happening?"

"Yes, there should. This is the part that I don't fully understand either, Miss Granger. All I know right now is that there is a child, a Malfoy child nonetheless, under my desk, and we have a potentially bewitched TimeTurner. Aside from that, I am completely out of my depths." Professor McGonagall admitted, slightly nodding her head, and bowing her eyes.

Draco, who had been carefully listening in throughout the whole conversation, let out an exasperated sigh. The sobbing from the child had stopped a while ago, and was now replaced by occasional sniffs and moans, which could have been easily drowned out by the low chatter between the three.

"The best way to find out anything," Hermione finally said, "Is to ask the child for ourselves. I know he is young, but he probably knows more than we do."

Draco nodded, and Professor McGonagall gestured to her desk with her hand. With that, Hermione turned on her heel, to face the desk once more. She carefully leant beside Draco, who hadn't changed position from their original encounter with the child. By the time she had reached the boy's level, he had turned to the two expectantly. His eyes were still red and his cheeks were puffy, but he had seemed to have stopped crying, and in a more suitable state to talk.

"Hello, Adrian." Hermione said softly, "Are you okay?"

The boy quickly nodded at Hermione, before letting a feeble smile escape his lips.

"Can you tell us who your mommy and daddy are? Or maybe what they look like? I bet they are wondering where you have gotten to." Hermione smiled, trying to encourage the child to speak.

It took a few seconds for the boy to comprehend the question before replying. "My daddy is named Draco. He's pretty tall, and his hair is the same colour to mine." The boy reached for a strand of his own hair to demonstrate the colour. "He usually wears a black suit all the time, but mommy doesn't like him doing that, so she sometimes hides his black shirts, or swaps them with white ones."

Hermione smiled at the little boys story, partially due to the the fact that this child was certainly Draco's son, and partially due to the fact that Draco actually had a fun-loving wife. It was almost unbelievable, but considering the whole situation, nothing much else could shock them. The little boy then coughed, and continued.

"My mommy is really pretty. Daddy even tells her everyday."

Behind Hermione, Draco's cheeks rapidly began to change colour, from a chalky white to a scarlet red, as the little boy revealed his future self. _He was married? This was his son? Had he really become soft in the future? Wait - was that really the biggest problem right now?_ He let the little boy continue with his story, before anybody else in the room noticed Draco's sudden embarrassment.

"She has brown eyes, and wavy hair, but she usually puts it up. She says that its more practical this way, but daddy always says that he likes it down better." As he reminisced, tears began to sting his eyes, and stream down his face. Hermione offered her hand as comfort, and he took it straight away, holding it close to himself.

"Your mommy sounds lovely," Hermione comforted, using her other hand to sweep some of the stray hairs from his face, "Do you know her name?"  
The boy nodded once more, and gazed back up into Hermione's eyes.

"Yes, she's called Hermione. Hermione Malfoy."

Hermione spluttered uncontrollably for a second, and snatched her hand back from the little boy to balance herself on the floor. The rapid movement of her hand alarmed the boy, who simply looked back up at Hermione with bewilderment. Behind her, Draco's face was beginning to match the red of the velvet chair in front of him. He became unsteady on his feet, as his eyes widened to the size of ping pong balls.

"Did you say _Hermione_?" Hermione squeaked, still spluttering.

The little boy nodded, innocently looking between Hermione's and Draco's paled faces. Behind the two students, Professor McGonagall stood in awe, listening to the conversation between the three.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, almost sharply, "Do you know what your mother's name was before she got married?"

Adrian shook his head lightly, and his eyes filled with tears once more.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry." He said, curling his legs up tighter.

Hermione released her agitated scowl and half smiled at the little boy. _It wasn't his fault. He hasn't done anything wrong. He is only a child._ Hermione softly sighed, and reached out for the child. Without resistance, Adrian threw himself onto Hermione and hugged her tightly, much to everyone's surprise in the room. She hugged him back, and picked him up from beneath the table, so that they all could see him clearly.

"What do you suggest we done now, professor?" Draco asked, almost scowling at the new situation.

"I don't know yet, Draco. I am going to have to get the TimeTurner analysed by professional charms experts. That is the only way we can know what we are up against. As for the child, well - I am going to say that he has got to stay with us for a while. He was bought by this TimeTurner, so the only thing that can send him back is this TimeTurner. Until we can remove any curses or bewitchments on it, he will have to stay here." Professor McGonagall stated, glancing between Adrian and the TimeTurner, which was now resting on the shelf again.

Adrian buried his face into Hermione's robes, as she carefully rocked him back and forth, in some attempt to soothe him.

"You can't just leave him in your office, Professor. He is still just a child!" Hermione argued back, clutching the small body to hers.

"Oh, no. Of course not, Miss Granger. With all of the current information, I have reason to believe that you two are his actual parents. Maybe not yet, but in the future, anyhow. The only way he will feel safe is if he stays with you both, until he can get back to his own time. That is why I feel that it is only right if you take care of him. You already have your own private dorms, so privacy will not so much be an issue. I know this is a big responsibility, especially as you are only 17, but I fear that I don't have any other choice." Professor McGonagall finally concluded

Hermione's eyes widened as McGonagall finalised her plan, but nodded her head anyway. _Someone would have to take care of the child, and he was already alarmed enough. Just until we can get him back to his own time._ Draco didn't seem as eager, however. His reddened face had now subsided, and was replaced by a blank, unreadable expression. _The child was going to stay with them, regardless._ Draco sighed and turned back to Hermione who was still clutching the child at her waist.

"Very well, Professor." Draco said at last, his voice slightly bitter.

"Then it is settled. I am going to take this TimeTurner to Hogsmeade to see if there are any specialists in the area to reveal anything about it. I suggest you two take the child up to your own dorm for a while. I will owl you if I find out any details." Professor McGonagall replied, walking towards the fireplace with a pinch of floo powder in her hand, "I suggest that, for the mean time, you keep a low down. We don't want anything getting out of control."

With that, McGonagall threw down the floo powder into the fireplace, muttered Hogsmeade, and was replaced by a flashing green light. Within seconds, Draco, Hermione and Adrian were left in the room in complete silence. At this point, Hermione swivelled on her heel to face Draco. His face remained expressionless, as he looked back at her.

"What is your problem?" Hermione asked sharply, narrowing her eyes at Draco's.

"What are you talking about?" Draco retorted back, scowling at Hermione's accusation.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. This isn't just my problem, you know. This is your child, too. This is _our_ child, theoretically."

Hermione's voice cracked as she said the word ' _our_ ', but Draco simply scoffed in return. The child in Hermione's arms looked up at the two in their intense argument.

"You look a lot like mommy and daddy, you know. Except they don't argue this much. Why are you?"

As the innocent little boy asked this, Hermione's face crumpled in regret.

"I'm sorry Adrian. We're sorry. We are just having a little problem at the minute, and it is really stressful for me and Draco. I hope you can understand that."

Adrian's eyes suddenly widened, and he flicked some of his hair from his face.

"His name is Draco, too? That's my daddy's name! Does he know my daddy?" Adrian suddenly got very excited, which surprised both Hermione and Draco.

"Uh, maybe. Draco is a really common name though." Hermione lied, whilst trying to recall any other Draco that she knew. _None._

Draco watched the discussion between Hermione and Adrian, and smiled slightly. Not enough that Hermione could see it, but just enough to let him enjoy the moment. He sighed for the umpteenth time, and bought back a warm smile to show his regret towards their argument. _Yes, it was going to be tough. But, he couldn't let Hermione deal with it on her own. That wasn't right. Besides, if he really was a Malfoy, then it would be his responsibility - the Malfoy's stick together._

Hermione suddenly noticed Draco's smile, and smiled back, almost completely forgetting their petty squabble.

"We have to work together, Draco. It'll be a challenge, but I'm a Gryffindor and you are a Slytherin. I am sure that we can work something out together. It is only for a little while, until Professor McGonagall figures out what is going on. Besides, he is only a child." Hermione said, as she smiled at Adrian in her arms.

"Yes, I suppose so. But how are we going to explain where he came from. Do you really think the school will believe that he showed up via a bewitched TimeTurner. There are so many things wrong with that story. Besides, Professor McGonagall said to keep it on a low down, so we are going to need a cover story. And a good one."

"Okay, okay." Hermione agreed, losing herself in thought for a few seconds, "What about him being your little brother. I mean, he looks exactly like you. Besides, with your father and mother in -"

"Yeah, I get it." Draco smiled weakly, "He can be my little brother. I suppose it will avoid too many questions.

Hermione smiled back, confident of her plan. Draco, on the other hand, didn't seem to be so sure about the whole idea.

Neither of them had quite gotten over the fact that they were walking out of Professor McGonagall's office with a child. _Supposedly their child._ They didn't know anything, apart from the child had to stay with them, and they had to keep it on the down-low. And to keep up with their school work, and prefect roles? This was going to be hard. Not to mention the prefect meeting. Strolling up with a small child wouldn't really make a good first impression, but what other choice did they have? Besides, this was only temporary, right?

 **Author's Notice**

Hey guys! Thanks for all of the feedback I am getting from this story. Both praise and criticism is helping me to further advance and make it the best I possibly can for you. So I just wanted to say a BIG thank you.

Anyway, to get to my point here, I am REALLY sorry that I left it on a cliff hanger before I went on holiday, and I really, really didn't want to cause any intentional distress, especially to the readers that are really loyal to this story. (Thanks guys!) Really, it was my only choice, because I wanted to get to the more interesting parts - I see these first two chapters as sort of a pilot introduction, if you know what I mean. However, thanks to your patience and loyalty - I have finally managed to get the next chapter up. (And I promise that I won't do any more cliff hangers for a while!)

I just want to mention that I am not too sure of this chapter - what do you guys think? I had a different outcome, but I thought it was to cliché, and so I added a bit of a twist. I really hope that you like it - and it shocked you just a little bit! Please review! Thanks!

One more thing that I want to note before I sign off, some readers have suggested that I could slow my pace down of the story a little. So, from here on in, you will be seeing a slower pace, if you will, to try and include more details and information. I really hope this is what you guys want to see. Please continue to review! Everything helps! Thank you all so much for your loyalty and patience. THANK YOU.

C x


	4. C4: Well, That Could Have Gone Better

Chapter 4: Well, That Could Have Gone Better

 **I do not own any parts of Harry Potter, characters, places or events. This privilege entirely belongs to J.K Rowling, as she owns EVERYTHING! But, I hope you like this fan made story anyway!**

It was a few minutes before they managed to reach their head dorms once more, walking the entire way in complete silence. The child, who had been put down by Hermione, as he was beginning to get heavy in her arms, was also tottering behind in silence. Draco, who was walking a few paces behind Hermione, occasionally scowled, but managed to revert his face back to his original blank expression. Now and then, he slowed down to let Adrian try to keep up to his pace, who had problems walking at the same speed as Hermione and Draco. At last, Draco gave in and picked the little boy up himself, positioning him onto his shoulders and striding back up to Hermione once more.

By the time they had once more reached their dorm, Draco's arms had become tired and he had carefully placed Adrian onto the chair by the fireplace. Hermione's eyes occasionally flickered between Draco and Adrian, trying to consider their situation. At last, she raised her head, and made eye contact with Draco. At first, he shied away from her glare, but soon began to glare back as he realised that she had something to say.

"I guess he has got to stay here, with us. I think that he should stay in one of our rooms, rather than leaving him out here. It probably gets cold out here, and besides, he is still just a child, who, I assume, misses his mother and father very much. The worst thing that we can do for him is abandon him when he needs us the most." Hermione concluded, waiting for Draco's response.

To her surprise, Draco nodded in agreement almost immediately.

The little boy, who had been listening into the conversation intently piped up as soon as Hermione had finished speaking.

"Do you know where my mommy and daddy are? They're probably very angry that I got lost. Will I get into trouble?"

Adrian's bottom lip started to tremble and quiver as tears began to stain his face once more. Hermione raced over to the chair to comfort the boy, and reassure him that his parents would be reunited with him as soon as possible. Finally convinced by Hermione's comforting, the little boy gave in and began to smile once more. Hermione never noticed it before, but Adrian did have Draco's smile. It was a slightly cheeky, half-smirk, which was Draco's trademark, and what gave him away almost immediately. Now that he had stopped crying, his grey eyes were more piercing than ever, and his blonde hair was beautifully soft. His face, however, did resemble her own. His eyebrows allowed for the perfect scowl - __Hermione's__ scowl. His nose was also slightly wrinkled every time he laughed or smiled. Hermione simply grinned at the amazing facial expressions such a young child could make.

Behind them, Draco was watching intently. His eyes were fixated on the two, watching them pull faces between each other, and gleefully smile in return. His eyes softened, and his brow flattened from a creased frown to more of a soft smile. He listened to the quite chatter between them both for a few seconds, before slowly turning around and creeping to his room. He swung the door open with very little effort, at the same time, trying to stop it from creaking as it pulled against it's own hinges. He managed to enter without Hermione or Adrian looking back up at him.

When he had entered, his settled himself onto the side of his bed, with his legs slung over the side. The morning's sun had now been replaced by a grey sky, with the threat of a fierce storm ahead. This created a dark shadow across his room, but no more than he was already used to from the Slytherin dormitories. However, he chose to grab his wand anyway, and cast the Incendio spell towards the candle. It immediately flickered to life as the flame engorged the wax. Once more, it was silence in his room, and he was left alone with his thoughts. Everything that had happened throughout the day came flooding back to him like a tidal wave. He was almost lost in deep concentration as he heard a faint knock on his door. He raised his head towards it as Hermione strode in, not waiting for a reply.

"Are you okay, Draco?" Hermione asked cautiously, "One minute I was talking with Adrian, and the next thing I knew, you were gone."

Draco raised an eyebrow in response, but chose not to say anything as Hermione pulled back her hair.

"Well, anyway, I just came to ask if you would like to come to the Great Hall with me. I was going to meet Harry and Ron there anyway, so you can come along if you want. I will be taking Adrian with me."

Draco almost became defensive over her last statement. __Why did Adrian - who was a potential Malfoy nonetheless - have to socialise with Potter and a Weasel?__ Instead, however, he bit his tongue and nodded politely at Hermione, who was eyeing him with curiosity.

"So will you be coming or not?" Hermione demanded, half impatiently, half jokingly.

"I might as well, and if I get bored of the __Dynamic Duo__ , I suppose I can go and see how the rest of the Slytherins are doing." He finally replied, smirking at his own sarcastic response.

"Well, whatever. __I__ still want to see them however, and Adrian still wants to meet them, so you can do whatever you want in the mean time."

Draco rolled his eyes at Hermione's stubbornness, as she finalised their plans. By the time they had come to their agreement, Adrian had toddled in and had reached Draco's bed. For a few seconds, he tried to clime up the covers, using the bedposts as mounts, before being placed onto the bed by Draco. The pair stopped for a second to admire Adrian, who looked positively triumphant about his feat of climbing onto the bed, even with Draco's assistance. They all sat in silence for a few seconds, looking between one another, before Hermione smiled at Adrian and gestured towards the door. She then turned back to Draco, and grinned, as he simply smirked back at her.

The all exited through the painting, much to Adrian's delight. The little boy in the painting waved back at Adrian, whose hands were flailing uncontrollably in an attempt to get the little boy to notice him. Hermione smiled as she led Adrian by the hand, and Draco close on her heel. This time, they didn't walk in silence, but a low chatter between the three as Adrian asked questions about the school; anything from the amount of floors there were, to had anyone ever been killed. Hermione did her best to answer them as logically as possible, however, Draco chose to joke, misguiding the boy from Hermione's answers.

By the time they reached the Great Hall, Hermione was exasperated, and didn't want to be asked another question. They all turned the sharp corner, which lead through the passage to the grand wooden doors. The three entered together, Adrian still clutching Hermione's hand, and occasionally reaching for Draco's.

Hermione spotted Harry and Ron almost immediately. They were both haunched over __The Daily Prophet__ , and were reading the sports section aloud. Hermione picked up several words, such as _ _Quidditch, winner, cup,__ and __tournament.__ She coughed slightly to bring their attention away from the newspaper. At first, they didn't respond, so Hermione stamped her foot impatiently, and drew both her arms to her hips. This bought both Harry and Ron's attention to her, as they grinned at her sheepishly. Adrian had taken this opportunity to take a step back and hide behind Hermione's legs, away from their prying eyes. He watched as Hermione greeted them both with ease.

"Hello. Reading anything good?" Hermione asked, flicking her eyes between the two boys and the paper laying flat on the table.

"Only the best news ever!" Ron burst out, not letting Harry catch a word in, "The Chudley Cannons have won the International Quidditch Tournament! Everyone said their glory days were over, but I knew that they could do it!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at the over excited Ron, who was practically cheering so loud that the other students had to turn to see what the commotion was. Draco, who hadn't yet been noticed by either Harry or Ron, stood a few feet behind Hermione, listening into their conversation. He interrupted Ron's cheering by stepping to Hermione's side.

"What's your problem, you good-for-nothing ferret?" Ron demanded, his previous good nature fading as fast as the colour on his face.

"Oh, nothing." Draco smirked relentlessly, "Just doing my rounds with __the Head Girl.__ "

At this point, Hermione elbowed him in the ribs, enough to take his breath away for a few seconds. He scowled mercilessly, while Ron raised an eyebrow and smirked. As she smiled back at Ron, she felt a soft tug of her hand, and was instantly reminded of the small child that stood right behind her legs. She stepped away from the boy, so he was in full view of both Harry and Ron.

"Miss Hermione, do you know if we can get any food? I'm really hungry." The child softly whined, filling Hermione with guilt.

"Of course. Lunchtime starts at 12 o'clock, so it shouldn't be long now." Hermione replied, looking at the grinning child.

He nodded with delight, before returning back to his original, silent stance.

Ron and Harry stared for a few seconds at the little boy by Hermione's legs. Each had their mouths partially open, and their eyes wide. There was a deafening silence that followed, as neither boy chose to say anything before the other one did. At last, it was Harry who chose to speak up first, with fear that Ron would not be able to talk whatsoever.

"Who is __he__?" Harry squeaked, a few decibels higher than his normal voice sounded.

"Uh, his name is Adrian. Adrian Malfoy." Hermione responded cautiously, trying not to give any more details away than was absolutely necessary.

Both Harry and Ron immediately turned their accusing eyes towards Draco, who had turned his head away from the accusations, and was fussily admiring the other house tables. Hermione heard Ron growl under his breath, but didn't say anything, and waited for Draco to turn back and face them.

When he thought that enough time had been spent looking away, he turned to face Harry and Ron, and looked them both dead in the eye.

"Potter. Weasel. Do you have something that you would like to say?" Draco asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Yes I bloody well do." Ron snarled, clenching his fists under the table.

"Well then spit it out." Draco retorted back, now taking on a tone of hostility.

"Who the hell is he? I mean - I know his name. Why is he here? We've already got one ferret boy, we don't need another." Ron's voice was becoming so hoarse with anger that he was barely able to keep it audible.

The little boy standing beside Hermione watched as Draco and Ron bickered relentlessly. His eyes were wide with confusion as the tension between the two grew from a mere silence to a full blown argument. He reached out and clutched Hermione's hand, and in return she gave it a soft squeeze, as she contemplated stepping in and neutralising the situation.

"Calm down, Ron." Hermione said, at last, almost scolding, "I don't really see what the problem is here."

Ron ceased his glare at Draco to return to Hermione, and scowled down at the little boy - the striking resemblance of Draco in his face. In response, Hermione grinned slightly before revealing the phony alibi for the child's appearance.

"This is Draco's little brother. He is staying with us for a little while, as he has no where to go, with his parents __away__ and all. Besides, we are only glorified babysitters, right Draco?"

Draco wasn't paying much attention to __what__ Hermione was saying, but more of how she was saying it. Somehow, she even managed to make the most bogus of stories sound like pure fact. A talent, if you will. As soon as he had re-emerged from his daydream like haze, he looked at the faces staring back at him.

"Right, Draco?" He heard Hermione repeat, a slight tone of impatience in her voice.

"Uh, oh yes. That's right." Draco agreed, not entirely sure what he had actually just agreed to.

"There you have it then, Ron. With us being the Heads, and it being Draco's brother - well the responsibility naturally lay with us. I, for one, relish the opportunity to work with the younger generation, however, and I think that it will make me a better person as a whole. I really look forward to this task, no matter how mundane you may think it to be." Hermione concluded, slightly whipping her head forward to gesture that no more was needed to be said.

Ron took the hint and slouched back on his chair, a scowl still pressed across his forehead. Harry took this chance to try and change the subject before another argument could commence.

"So how are you liking your first day as the official Head Girl, Mione? Any more difficult than you would have expected?"

Hermione laughed as she shook her head, honestly wanting to reveal the truth to Harry about this being a day from Hell.

"Nope. It's exactly what I expected - just like all the books said it would be. I went to a Muggle and a magical library over the summer holidays, after getting my badge, and checked out as many Senior Prefect books as I could find. To be honest, both sets of books say pretty much the same thing; hierarchical roles, responsibility over power, and how to lead a team. I think that it is pretty much exactly what I expected it to be - but I will keep you updated." Hermione said, recalling her "light" summer holiday reading.

Harry simply rolled his eyes, playfully, in reply. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Draco had found a chance to wander away from the Gryffindor table, and over to the Slytherin table, where Blaise Zabini was theatrically shaking Draco's hand, and patting his back every so often. Hermione pulled her eyes back to Harry and Ron, and then back to the small boy, still clutching her hand. He hadn't said another word since he had asked for something to eat, although he occasionally shuffled around on the spot, alerting Hermione to his increasing impatience.

"I think I will have to go, now." Hermione said softly, looking between Harry and Ron.

Ron, whose face had softened since the departure of Draco, nodded quickly, whilst Harry smiled, and began to get up.

"Okay, Hermione. I'll walk with you for a few minutes, to wait for Draco to catch up."

"No, you don't have to do that. Stay with Ron." Hermione replied, looking as innocent as she could possibly muster.

"No, I insist." Harry repeated, his eyes wide, gesturing to Hermione that there was a reason behind his odd behaviour.

"Okay then. See you later Ron. Come on, Adrian."

Hermione and Adrian left on their heels, shortly followed by Harry, who walked a few steps behind them. Once they were out of the room, and out of the view of the hall, Harry stopped abruptly. In response, so did Hermione, as she waited for Harry to catch up to her.

"So what's wrong, then?" Hermione started, her generally warm voice now filled with concern.

"Well, the truth is - it's Ron. I know that you two have broken up - or on a break, or whatever you want to call it, but Ron still has feelings for you, you know. These random outbursts are jealousy, as far as I can see it. I completely get that you two still want to be friends - but I'm begging you, please make this clear to Ron. He's been driving him self insane with these random mood swings and anger outbursts. I'm convinced he thinks that you have got something going on with Draco. That's why he targets him the most. It's really only started after you and Draco were elected as the Heads. I think he sees him as a threat, of some sort."

Hermione's eyes widened at Harry's reveal. All of the memories of Ron's and her 'breakup' came back at once.

"I thought that we mutually agreed that we would be happier if we just remained friends. I thought - and I thought that he was thinking the same thing - that it was just to weird. We were basically dating and being best friends at the same time, and those two relationships couldn't really distinguish from one another. He's been like a brother to me for so long, that it just feels odd to be romantically involved, if you will. I thought that he was happy with the agreement, too." Hermione finally said, picturing Ron going through phases of anger and guilt after their breakup.

Harry nodded his head, understandingly, at Hermione, trying to sympathise with her situation.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise. I still think that it would be best for you to talk with him though - it might straighten things out a bit more. Please? For me?"

Hermione smiled at her friend's soft plea, and nodded her head slowly. Harry smiled back, and hugged Hermione warmly, before leaving the two standing alone in the corridor once more.

Hermione's mind was calculating, trying to figure out how she would speak to Ron. Since their separation, his mood __and mind__ had been all over the place. It would be difficult to get Ron to see the reasons behind their breakup, rather than the fact that she just wanted to "see other people." She groaned with exasperation as she tried to find a way to talk to Ron without him getting upset, and feeling worse than he already was. __That could be impossible.__

Hermione and Adrian walked back to the Head dorms; along the way, Adrian, once again, asked about different things, the paintings, the stairs, and the ghosts. Pretty much, anything that came into his view. By the time she had gotten back, and whispered the password to the little boy in the painting, she realised that she was actually getting hungry. She went to her room, and looked at the alarm clock on her drawer. She had been given it from one of her Muggle friends, Amelia, for her birthday. She had given it to her with the intentions of keeping time, when she couldn't see one of the grandfather clocks lurking somewhere in the castle. With Professor McGonagall's permission, she had it enchanted, and bought to her room. __Such a useful gift.__ The clock read 11:55. It wouldn't be long until lunch time.

Hermione casually drummed her fingers along the drawer next to her bed, without being fully concious that she was doing it. She could hear Adrian shuffling around just outside her door, and the steady ticking of the alarm clock, but everything else was silent. Well, until Draco stumbled through the door like an unbalanced alcoholic. Hermione jumped to her feet at the crash through the painting, and dashed to the edge of her bedroom door frame, to see Draco with clenched fists, and panting like a dog.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, staring at Draco's cold facial expression.

"I've just been chased by the Bloody Barron through the corridors! Peeves persuaded him that I should become number one on his hit list, and so I've just done a lap of the castle - with him threatening to __behead__ me the entire way!" Draco cried, his breath slowly returning to normal.

Hermione stifled a laugh at the courtesy of Draco's story. __It did sound like something that Peeves would do. Then again, I wouldn't put it past Ron either, right now…__ Hermione mused at her own thoughts, carefully watching Draco's facial expressions to see if he saw the funny side of it, too. After a few breathless seconds of silence, Draco lifted his head, and half-smiled at Hermione, before retiring to his room. Adrian, who had now positioned himself on the rug in front of the fireplace, was watching the conversation between the two intently.

"Miss Hermione," Adrian began, pulling Hermione's attention from Draco to Adrian, "What's a Peeves?"

Hermione laughed softly, and explained that he was the mischief-making ghost of Hogwarts. Adrian nodded, and smiled to himself.

"Why did he want to chase Mister Draco? Has he done something wrong?"

"No, or well, at least I don't think so. __Today, anyway.__ He just does it because he thinks it's funny - and the Slytherin ghost has a really short temper."

Adrian shot up at the mention of the Slytherin ghost.

"So is the Slytherin ghost called the Bloody Barron?" Adrian asked, after thinking it over in his own head, "Daddy told me that when I come to Hogwarts, I will be in Slytherin - just like him! He said all of the Malfoy's go into Slytherin, but mommy doesn't think so. Mommy thinks Libby will go into Gryffindor."

Hermione suddenly became very interested in Adrian's story.

"Who's Libby?" Hermione asked, as casually as she could.

"Oh, she's my big sister. Her full name is Libertas - but everyone just calls her Libby. She just got her Hogwarts letter last week, so Daddy said we would come and pay Miss McGonagall a visit, because he is friends with her. Before I got __here__ , I remember sitting in Miss McGonagall's office playing with a pretty necklace I found. I was going to give it to mommy, but everything went strange, and I shut my eyes. When I opened them again, mommy, and daddy and Libby were gone."

Adrian's eyes started to brim over with tears as he recalled the story to Hermione. Her eyes were still wide with confusion, and almost utter disbelief as she reached out to comfort Adrian.

Draco stood at the edge of his doorway, slightly leaning on the frame, and watching to two talk. He was adeptly listening into Adrian story when he had the same shock as Hermione - __he potentially had another child! Well, another future child.__ He listened to Hermione comforting Adrian for a few more seconds, before retreating back to his room, and sitting on the edge of his bed. It was only short-lived however, as Hermione shouted from the common room that he should come down for lunch.

Like an obedient child, he got up and head for the common room, where he found Adrian and Hermione, hand in hand, about to head out of the picture frame door. He raced over to them, just in time to save himself from the painting swinging into his face. He lightly grumbled at Hermione not holding the door open __for him__ , but quickly silenced as she shot him a stern look. A look that said she didn't want to be messed with.

It took a few minutes to get to the Great Hall once more, and they were each getting more accustomed to the route they took to continuously get there and back. It didn't seem such a long way now that they actually knew where they were going.

By the time they had gotten to the Great Hall, Draco and Hermione had chosen to part rather quickly, Draco wandering to the Slytherin table, and Hermione guiding Adrian to the Gryffindor table. She settled in between Ginny and Ron, before instructing Ron to slightly move up, so that she could fit Adrian between Ginny and herself. Ron scowled at the instruction, and unwillingly moved over, dramatically sighing as he did so. In return, Hermione shot him a glare, which Ron simply rolled his eyes at.

"Why can't he go and sit with ferret-boy?" Ron whined, snappily.

"Because, Ronald," Hermione began matter-of-factly, "I don't know if I could trust Draco to watch __and keep alive__ a plant, much less a child. Therefore, I think that the best bet is if Adrian has lunch with the Gryffindor table. Besides, none of the other Gryffindor's seem to mind, so why should you?"

Ron started to reply with a witty response, but Ginny shot him a deathly glance, which silenced him immediately. Hermione rolled her eyes, and shook her head, as the Gryffindor's around her started to laugh. She then turned to Ginny and mouthed a 'thank you', before reaching for some food to fill her own, and Adrian's plate.

After lunch, Ginny and Harry insisted that they wanted to take Adrian for a look in the Gryffindor common room. At first, Hermione was reluctant to let Adrian out of her sight, but finally agreed at her friends continuous pleas. At last, Hermione softly laughed and gave into them both. Together, they began to depart from the Great Hall, Ginny and Adrian walking hand in hand. As Hermione began to turn around once more, she noticed Harry coming back towards her, with his arms outstretched. He quickly gave her a hug and inconspicuously whispered in her ear.

"Please talk to Ron. We will keep Adrian occupied for as long as you need, but please talk to him!"

With that, Harry released his grasp of Hermione' body, and raced back towards Ginny and Adrian, who were beginning to turn the corner. Hermione looked back down at Ron, who had just finished eating, and was now sitting in silence at the table, his arms folded, and his eyes narrowed. Hermione sighed, and turned to sit in the seat besides Ron, and turned towards him.

"Ron?" Hermione asked softly, "Is there something wrong? You've been acting really odd, and I was just wondering if there was anything you would like to talk about."

Ron raised an eyebrow, as he turned to Hermione.

"And what makes you think that?" He replied, half-asking, half-accusing.

"Well, you have been really snappy. Especially towards Draco and Adrian. And me. I don't really understand what is going on."

She said that with the intentions of him opening up to her, even though, in all honesty, she probably already knew what his problem was. Still, it was worth a shot.

"I don't have a problem."

Hermione groaned heavily, before continuing her side of the discussion.

"Is it because of our break up? I thought we both were mutually agreeing on that?

Ron glowered back at her, before crossing his arms tighter, and pulling his eyes towards the table in front of him.

"No. But even if it was what makes you think I would be wanting to talk to you about it anyway."

"Well, it was __our__ relationship, Ronald. I have just as much right to discuss it as you."

"Yeah, well it's in the past now. So just forget it. Go and gallivant off with Malfoy or whoever else you want."

With that, he got up and stalked out of the Great Hall, leaving behind a raging Hermione Granger, and the hundreds of pairs of eyes from the students that were watching their argument.

 _ _Well, that could have gone better.__ Hermione put her head down on the table for a moment of thought. __That could have gone much better.__

 **Authors Notice**

I really hope that you have all enjoyed this chapter! I just want to apologise for how long it has taken me to _finally_ upload Chapter 4 - so I am really sorry, guys! I've just had a lot going on this month, and with my A-Level finals looming just around the corner, well, that doesn't really make a good mix. So, I'm sorry!

In other news, (more to do with this Chapter), I hope that you find it a little more revealing and a little bit more tense. I felt that I really needed to address Hermione and Ron's relationship, and although I wanted to steer it away from the original cannon, I wanted to give you all a reason why - for those of you who may want to ask. So I hope you enjoyed their little squabble, and the tension I created with it! Mwhahaha! I really hoped you like it though, and please keep favoriting and reviewing!

Thank you all so much, especially to the readers that have come back time after time (A big thank you to you - and your patience!) Please review! You guys are the best!

C x


	5. Chapter 5: Skill or Thrill

**I do not own any parts of Harry Potter, characters, places or events. This privilege entirely belongs to J.K Rowling, as she owns EVERYTHING! But, I hope you like this fan made story anyway!**

Chapter 5: Skill or Thrill?

Hermione sat in the hall for a few minutes, all eyes fixated on her. Her mind was spinning with scrambled thoughts and unanswered questions. Her heart was racing, and her head was getting warm. She took in a few breaths to calm herself down, before getting up from the Gryffindor table, and turning around. With her head still held high, she strode out of the Great Hall like nothing had happened, not giving the people staring another glance back.

By the time she had turned the corner, and managed to make her way into the corridor, a sense of relief began to overwhelm her. She was away from the prying eyes, and the constant judgements of others over her relationship with Ron. __Her relationship! What had it got to do with anybody else?__ She drew breath quickly, and exhaled faster, slightly sniffling as she did so. It wasn't until she was alone that she looked down at her hands, to reveal her fists were clenched into tight balls. Her teeth were also slightly grinding - a bad habit that she took on every time she was angry or embarrassed. __This time, it was definitely anger.__

Behind her, Draco watched silently. He had managed to escape the other Slytherins by telling them that he was going for some Quidditch practise before the prefect meeting started. There was still over half an hour before he was expected to be there, so it was a perfectly plausible excuse, really. This gave him the opportunity to follow Hermione between the corridors - __maybe even talk to her__. He watched her carefully for a few seconds, her back still turned from him. Finally, he took it upon himself to alert her of his presence.

"Granger? Are you okay?" Draco asked, trying to make his voice sound as casual as possible.

Hermione spun around quickly, half expecting to see Ron standing at the end of the corridor. She prepared for another dispute as she turned to face the figure. Almost immediately, she was taken aback by the fact that Draco standing there. She relaxed her clenched fists, and took a deep breath.

Draco stepped forward to meet Hermione half way down the corridor. His eyes scanned her face, trying to decipher her thoughts.

"I'm fine. Guess you saw that, huh?" Hermione said softly, almost wishing that his answer would be 'no'.

"Yeah. What happened between you and the Weasel?"

Hermione sighed, briefly contemplating whether or not she could tell him everything. __We've already gone through so much - only after the first day! He'll find out sooner or later, anyway.__ After a few seconds in silence, she gave in, and began recalling her problems.

"Basically, after the war, as you probably know, me and Ron sort of got together. I don't know why - heat of the moment, maybe?"

Draco nodded, although, truth be told, he didn't really know many details about Hermione and Ron's relationship. He did know, from several rumours, that they had gotten together after the war, but that was about the height of it.

"Anyway, we stayed together all summer - it was pretty cute at first. Then, I suppose the novelty of it all wore off, and we just started to drift apart. To be perfectly honest, it was a little weird. He had been like a brother to me all this time, and then suddenly he is dating me? The whole thing was trouble from the start, I think."

Draco had remained silent while Hermione spoke. Her voice was becoming more agitated, just speaking of the problems she was having with Ron.

"So, what you saw just now in the hall, was the back end of it all. We broke up just before we came back to school, and I thought that he would be totally fine with it. We got here, and basically acted like none of it had ever happened, well, at least we tried to. We were almost back to the way things were, Ron and Harry both being brotherly figures in my life. Then, Harry spoke to me, and told me that Ron wasn't doing so good __because__ of our breakup. As you can guess, this was news to me. I thought that we were both much better off. So I spoke to him, in what was supposed to be a private manner, and it all escalated from there. You saw what happened after that, then."

Hermione looked back up at Draco, waiting for his response. He was still staring back at her, his eyes fixated into hers. After a few seconds of silence, Draco finally spoke, his voice soft and rather calming.

"Well, I think that it is his own fault."

Hermione smiled, at last relieving the built up tension in her face from scowling.

"You would though. I think this is a biased discussion, as seeing as you have a true dislike for him."

Draco shrugged in reply, smirking his infamous smirk. Hermione rolled her eyes, softly sighing as she did so. She then turned to face a large grandfather clock, oak and beautifully carved in an elegant design, to check the time.

"Come on, Malfoy. We need to get to the Prefect Common rooms, the meeting is going to start in ten minutes." She said finally, putting the incident with Ron to the furthest part of her mind.

"Ten minutes?" Draco complained, slightly whining, slightly serious.

"Yes. We need to get there early, to prepare for the meeting. We don't want to be late to our __first__ prefect meeting."

With a huff, Draco nodded, and sharply followed Hermione down the corridor. __He didn't really like being told what to do.__

It was a few minutes walk to the Prefect Common Room, through a series of twists and turns at various intervals, and a short hunt for the painting which protected the entrance. At last, Hermione found the Prefect painting; a fierce-looking old man, with a kindly voice.

"Yes, dear. What can I help you with?" The man in the painting asked, completely oblivious to the blond-haired boy standing a few feet behind her.

"I believe the password is Reculdam." Hermione said, recalling the information from Professor McGonagall about prefect accommodation.

The painting obediently swung open, allowing just enough time for Hermione and Draco to step through together.

They stepped into the common room together, and took a second to look around. As a whole, the common room looked rather similar to any other common room in the school. The same fireplace, series of desks and chairs, and occasional sofas scattered about the floor. As a whole, it was a very cosy room.

"It is rather nice in here." Hermione concluded, gazing at the different sets of furniture.

Draco followed Hermione's gaze across the room, occasionally stopping to admire a particular piece of the décor.

"It's not bad." Draco agreed, stepping more into the centre of the room.

Hermione followed, keeping a few feet behind him, trying to decide on the ample spot to relay her presentation of prefect responsibilities. A desk, close to the centre-front of the room, seemed most appealing, and the most practical for voice amplification, Hermione decided. It took a few more seconds for her to conjure up the correct paperwork and prompts she had prepared earlier for the meeting. Draco peered over her shoulder as she did so, but chose to keep quiet.

Once Hermione was confident that she had everything she needed, she settled down on a nearby sofa to wait for the arriving prefects. __1:24__. __The prefects should be arriving any minute.__ From that, they started to arrive just on cue. Pansy came flouncing in first, followed by Lavender and Susan Bones. Blaise and Theo shortly followed, along with another flood of students just behind them. Within minutes the nearly-empty room had filled up to it's maximum capacity with curious prefects. Hermione waited a little longer, just in case any late-comers were to scramble in at the last second before the meeting officially began. Once she was happy that everyone had managed to turn up, __on time,__ she started her speech.

"Good afternoon, prefects. Thank you attending this meeting, and being here punctually. I know that this is your time, but that is what being a prefect is all about - making sacrifices for the greater good of the school." Hermione began, addressing the prefect body that were watching her in silence.

"So, lets get down to the most important things. You are a prefect now - a representative of the whole school, and a role model for the younger students. You need to act like it. Any reported unruly behaviour will come directly to ourselves or the staff, and you will be punished accordingly - even if that means you get removed from the prefect team. Now, Draco is going to organise you into your working teams, and partner system."

A low moan and mumble stretched across the entire room as Hermione handed Draco a long piece of parchment. Draco began to read the names aloud.

"Susan, you will be paired up with Terry Boot. You both will be working in team one. Pansy, you will be paired with Theo, in team two, and Lavender, you will be paired with Blaise in team three."

Draco then continued to go through the list of names in front of him, until every prefect had got a partner, and a team. A few of the prefects grumbled more audibly, but none chose to come forward to address their problems.

Hermione then stepped forward once more to discuss the finalities, and the overall timetable, which would be produced at a later date. This time, the majority of the prefects chose to keep quiet, and listen to their further instructions without causing too much fuss. Twenty minutes after the meeting first started, it came to a close, and the students were once more dismissed.

Once he room was empty of the prefects, Hermione began to gather up some loose pieces of parchment. With a casual flick of her wand, Hermione organised the parchment into a neat pile on her desk, and partially tied up the mess that the prefects had made. Draco stood behind her, quietly observing, as she did so. When he had decided that she had tided up enough, he interrupted by stepping in front of her, as she inspected the room for cleanliness.

"So, what do we do for the rest of the day?" Draco asked, watching her trying to walk around him to have another look at the rest of the room.

"Uh, whatever you want I suppose. Actually, I was supposed to be picking Adrian up from Harry and Ginny, and I guess that you could probably make an appearance."

"You left him with Potter and the Weasel girl? What kind of impression would that make on a potential Malfoy?"

"A good one, I should hope! Besides, he is a potential Granger, too!"

Hermione didn't really want to go to those extremes, but she knew that it would silence Draco, so it could probably be worth it.

As she thought, Draco raised an eyebrow in response, which she chose to ignore. At last, he rolled his eyes, and huffed slightly, and then agreed to go and meet Harry and Ginny in the Gryffindor corridor, but put his foot down at actually entering the Gryffindor common room. Hermione nodded in agreement, and followed Draco back to the painting, which led the way out of the prefect common room.

Once more, they both found themselves in the twists and urns of the Hogwarts corridors and stairways. It actually took a while longer than expected, too, as it turned out that Peeves had managed to flood a toilet on the third floor, and sent two first years to Madam Pomfrey. Hermione didn't find the inconvenience very funny, but Draco quietly laughed when he saw a trickle of water coming from down one staircase or another.

At last, they made it to the corridor leading up to the Gryffindor common room, Draco abruptly stopped, and allowed Hermione to continue. She swiftly turned her head around, to see Draco casually leaning against the wall, almost impatiently waiting for her return. She shrugged to herself, and carried on down the corridor, until she reached the painting of he Fat Lady, protecting the entrance to the common room. The Fat Lady looked rather happy to see her, to which she gave a big smile.

"Oh, Hermione dear! I haven't seen you in such a long time, what has kept you?"

Hermione smiled politely at the lady, and replied, "Yes, I have been in the prefect dormitories."

The Fat Lady grinned before replying, "Ah yes, I do recall now. Our very own Gryffindor Head Girl. Anyhow, I still must ask, what's the password, dear?"

"Of course, it's Libri." Hermione said with confidence.

The Fat Lady obliged and opened the painting, so that Hermione could step through. As she did so, the Fat Lady began to whisper to her.

"By the way, there is a boy just down the corridor. Do you know him - he __is__ watching __you__ rather intently."

Hermione nodded quickly to appease the Fat Lady's curiosity, and stepped through into the warm glow cast by the Gryffindor common room. She walked forward, more into the Gryffindor common room, to be greeted by Harry, Ginny and Adrian. Harry and Ginny were sat on the sofa behind the crackling fire, and Adrian was sat just in front of it, absent-mindedly watching the curl of the flames.

Harry eagerly jumped up at Hermione's arrival, which caused a swift turn of Ginny's and Adrian's head towards him.

"Hermione! How are you? How is everything?"

Hermione grimaced at Harry's question, wanting to tell him the truth, but also not want to let him down. It was pretty clear that Ron hadn't already been and told Harry, or been in the Gryffindor common room, for that matter, so it was down to her to break the news.

"It could have gone better." Hermione admitted, maintaining eye contact with Harry, whilst a puzzled look crossed his face.

"With Ron? Why - what happened?"

At the mention of her brother, Ginny strolled across to where the two were standing, to listen and intervene in the conversation.

Hermione, rather unwillingly, revealed the story for the second time.

"After you left, and I started to talk with Ron, everything just blew out of proportion. I thought that we were both fine, but clearly not. He left in a storm, and clearly hasn't turned back up."  
Harry shook his head, agreeing with what she was saying. Ginny scowled, recalling one of her brothers temper tantrums, and mentally adding it to the situation.

"It's okay," Ginny comforted, offering a smile to Hermione, "He'll get over it, he always does. Then he will come crawling back, offering a feeble apology. What can I say - I've known him long enough!"

Hermione let out a short laugh, and smiled back at Ginny, and then at Harry, of which both smiled back at her.

She then turned her attention to the little boy, still quietly sitting on the floor beside the fireplace. He had been watching the three talk, but chose to stay still, and watch from afar.

"Hello, Adrian - are you okay?" Hermione asked sweetly.

"Yes, Miss Hermione. This place is really nice, and Miss Ginny and um…" Adrian stopped his sentence, unsure what the other boy's name was

"Harry?" Hermione offered, waiting for the little boy's response.

"Yes! Miss Ginny and Mister Harry are really nice. Harry even showed me his __Firebolt!__ I really want a broomstick, but mommy and daddy says that I can't have one yet, because I'm not big enough to ride one."

Hermione lightly laughed at the boys recollection of his family life, trying to picture it in her own mind. __Even if his parents were herself and Draco.__ It took her a few concious seconds to snap out of her daydream, and back into reality, with Adrian looking at her expectantly.

"Well, you are a bit little yet, but maybe I could get Harry or Draco to take you out on theirs for a little while. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

Adrian's eyes lit up, and a wide smile spread across his face.

"Really, Miss Hermione? Would they really let me have just a little __teeny tiny__ go? Thank you!"

The little boy walked over to her, reaching out for a hug. Hermione leant down, and picked Adrian up at the waist, and positioned him on the side of hers.

"Come on now, I think that we should go and leave Ginny and Harry in peace. Our lessons start tomorrow, so I know that they will want to get a head start on their reading."

Harry and Ginny simultaneously rolled their eyes behind Hermione, before waving the two off as they headed out of the painting.

Once they were in the corridor, Draco met them practically outside of the Fat Lady painting, as if he were anxiously waiting for their return.

"You waited?" Hermione asked, rather puzzled by his gesture.

"Well, I'm still here, aren't I?" Draco responded, trying to withdraw any possible hints of sarcasm which may be detected.

Hermione half smiled at him, and turned back to Adrian, who was now resting on her shoulder.

"Besides, what took you so long? I'm sure you've been in there for a good half an hour. How much do you have to say to two people - rather incompetent people - if I may add."

"You __may not__ add it. Anyway, aren't friends allowed to talk any more. Or do we have to consult the all mighty Draco to arrange a time slot of when we are allowed to have a conversation?" Hermione asked, making her words as sarcastic as she could possibly muster.

Draco rolled his eyes, the same way which Ginny and Harry did, but chose to be quiet, because he would be facing a loosing battle if he continued to argue.

Hermione started to stroll, at a rather rapid pace, down the corridor, heading in the direction of the head dormitories. It took Draco a few moments to realise that she was no longer by his side, and had to slightly sprint to get to her.

"So, where are we going now?" Draco asked, in what tone reminded Hermione of a whiny child.

"Do you always need to know everything? Besides, I didn't realise a __Malfoy__ followed any orders."

Draco shot Hermione a quick glance, before shaking his head and smirking.

"Equally, I didn't realise a Granger even __talked__ to a Malfoy, so we're off to a good start."

Hermione mumbled something which couldn't quite be heard by Draco before replying, "Well, four years ago, I couldn't really see myself doing it either. You were the biggest prat that I knew - out of everyone, Pansy Parkinson included."

Draco scowled for a few seconds at the comparison. __Worse than Pansy? That's a bit dramatic.__

Hermione read his facial expression, and smirked herself. She knew that she had just thrown the biggest insult towards him, and he hadn't even got a witty comment to retaliate with.

At last, Draco chose to continue the conversation, rather than walking in silence, sulking like a child.

"Yeah, well, I'm not that bad any more. I wouldn't even make that comparison with Weasel - and I can't stand him."

Draco went off into his own little daydream as Hermione laughed. He pictured Pansy Parkinson greeting him and his father boarding the Hogwarts express as a first year. Her screechy voice as she called out 'Drakey', and her long fingernails as they scraped across his skin as they unwillingly hugged. __Not a particular memory which he wanted to treasure forever.__

By the time that he had snapped out of his distant memory, he realise that his not-fully-concious body had directed him to the Head dormitories. He watched as Hermione muttered the password to the little boy in the painting, as as it swung open, with just enough time to let the three in.

Once they were all inside, Hermione released Adrian from her grasp, and settled down on the nearest sofa, basking in the warmth of the fire. Draco also followed suit, and settled down on the sofa opposite hers, silently watching Adrian walk between the tables and sofas, as if it were some kind of obstacle course. His eyes then met with Hermione's as she softly smiled back at him. Adrian stopped his climbing, and toddled over to Hermione to whisper something in her ear, and Draco watched as her eyes light up. Her smile slowly turned into a grin, as she nodded at the little boy's quiet requests.

Draco eyed them both with curiosity, wondering what they had to discuss, especially in such secrecy.

"Malfoy." Hermione began, trying to keep her voice as sickly sweet as she possibly could.

Draco looked up, trying to maintain eye contact with Hermione. He didn't particularly like the fact that she could manipulate her voice to sound so sweet, especially as he knew that she probably wanted something.

"Yes?" He asked cautiously, watching what he said, before he agreed to something that he wouldn't be able to back out of.

"Do you still have your broomstick, by any chance?"

Draco nodded, casting a few moments of thought to his Nimbus 2001, carefully tucked away in his room.

"Well, I was wondering if you may be able to take Adrian for a short ride? He hasn't ridden one before, and I thought that he would be pretty safe if you take him, rather than him have a go on his own."

"Wait - what? He has never ridden one?"

Hermione shook her head, more curious to the fact why he cared that the boy had never ridden one - over the fact that Hermione had just asked him to take the same little boy out on his prized Nimbus 2001.

"Fine, then. When did you want to go? I assume that you want to be there too, just because you don't trust my __amazing__ flying skills?"

"Don't boost your own ego, Malfoy. But you are right, I will be there. That's why I was hoping we could go out about now. We only need to be out for half an hour, at the most. It's still light, so I don't see why we couldn't."

Draco sighed, as he got up from his seat, and retreated towards his bedroom to collect his broomstick, and his protective gear. Hermione stayed in the common room with Draco, for a few more seconds, who could barely contain his own excitement. After a series of 'thank yous', Hermione took him into her room and settled him on her bed.

"Wait here a moment, Adrian. I'm just going to see if Draco has any spare protective clothing that you can borrow. I'll be back in a few seconds."

Hermione exited her own room, and quickly knocked on Draco's. There was a few seconds pause, before Draco called her in, and she stepped through the door frame. As she stepped inside, she noticed that Draco was wearing his entire Quidditch uniform.

"Why have you got all of that on? You are only going for a short __safe__ fly. I don't see why you would need to dress like you are about to enter the International Quidditch Tournament."

Draco scowled at her, as he picked up his broom, which was now resting beside his bed.

"The kid has never been on a broom!" Draco muttered, almost horrified by the thought.

"So?" Hermione asked, oddly surprised by his burst of passion about the boy's lack of flying.

"He's a Malfoy! Well, a __potential__ Malfoy anyway. Therefore, potential or not, he needs to know how to fly! I learnt from a very young age - as soon as I could walk, my father put me into flying lessons. I don't understand why he hasn't been."

Hermione irritably sighed, and addressed the main concern of flying, especially with the child being so young. Draco smirked, and then fastened his helmet to his head, mostly concealing his blond hair, but leaving his startlingly grey eyes to stare back at Hermione.

"Anyway, the reason I came in here is to ask if I could borrow some old Quidditch clothes for Adrian. A simple reducing charm will get them to the right size, so don't worry about them being too small."

With that, Draco turned around, and headed towards his chest of drawers. He pulled them open, and pulled out a sleek black pair of trousers, and a deep green shirt, with protective pads in the back and shoulders. At last, he picked up a green helmet from the cabinet beside him, and passed it, along with the clothes, to Hermione.

She gratefully took them and headed back to her own room, where she found Adrian still patiently waiting on her bed.

She reached over for her wand, which was carefully resting on the bedside table, and waved the wand at the clothes, with a call of 'reducio'. Within seconds, the uniform had shrunken down to less than half of it's original size.

"What do you think, Adrian? Are you ready to go out and fly with Draco?"

He nodded ferociously, as Hermione helped him into the protective clothes that Draco had provided, with a constant grin spread across his face.

At last, Adrian was dressed in Draco's old Quidditch wear, and looked scarily similar to a younger version of Draco, but without the constant scowl. Hermione picked Adrian up, and walked him into the common room, where Draco was already waiting with a freshly polished Nimbus 2001. There was a few nods between Hermione and Draco, before the three headed out of the common room together, to head for the Quidditch field.

They walked the corridor in silence, partially due to the fact that they had nothing to say, and partially due to the fact that even if they did have something to say, it probably couldn't be heard over the squeak of the Quidditch boots on the floor. However, Adrian's grin never faltered, and he continued to smile all the way to the ground floor, and out past the doors, facing towards the Quidditch grounds. They all made their way down together, although Adrian remained a few steps in front of them, unable to maintain his speed due to the excitement of his first flying experience.

When they had made their way down to the grassy patch, where they held some of their practise Quidditch sessions Draco and Hermione stopped, which caused Adrian to stop in his tracks, too. He turned around, his arms almost shaking with the excitement that his little body couldn't contain.

"Thank you so much Miss Hermione and Mister Draco! This is the best day of my life!"

Hermione laughed at Adrian's clear gratuity, and hugged him lightly as he came close to her.

"It's alright. I'm just really glad you'll get to try this - I'm sure you will have lots of fun! And Draco will be really safe!"

She cast a deathly glare at Draco who sighed, and nodded his head accordingly.

When Draco was satisfied that they had reached an optimum point for lift off, he set the broom down, and held the top end. He then gestured towards Adrian to come and stand beside him, so that they could both grasp the broom at the same time. Hermione watched as Draco and Adrian positioned themselves onto the broom, and Draco kicked off. She cheered loudly, as Adrian screamed with delight, as they increased their speed and altitude, to just rest about 15 feet up in the air.

Draco looked back down to Hermione, who although was cheering wildly about Adrian's achievement, also looked slightly worried about the height he was at. __Don't trust me, eh Granger?__ Draco rolled his eyes, and began to lower the broom to the ground, much to Hermione's relief. The little boy also ceased to scream as he realised that he has being bought back to the ground again.

Within a few minutes of taking off, Adrian was back on the ground again, standing beside Hermione and Draco was back in the air, flaunting his skill on a broom. He took a few dips and twists, as Adrian watched in awe at the amazing tricks that Draco was able to perform with ease. Hermione also watched, trying not to smile, as Draco boosted his own ego even further. __You've got to admit though, he is pretty good. Even for an egotistical Slytherin like Malfoy.__

Draco noticed Hermione's semi-impressed grin, and smirked. __Time for the finale.__ As Draco came in to do a final elaborate twist, just before landing beside Hermione, the broom suddenly jumped as if it were experiencing some disastrous turbulence. Draco held on tightly, as it began to twist into a painful nosedive to the floor. It spun around in the air, wildly, as Draco held on trying to maintain his dropping grip. From that, the broom began to plummet straight down, slinging Draco to one side, and itself to another. Hermione and Adrian watched in horror as Draco hit the ground with a thud, lying in an odd position on top of a clearly broken arm.

Together, they raced over to where Draco lay. His eyes were already swelling up to a blackened colour, which was clearly visible against his chalky white skin. His helmet had also come undone in the fall, and his blond hair was covered in a grey dust from the impact. Hermione leant down to his level, and shook his shoulders.

"Draco, are you okay? Can you hear me?!"

Draco?

 **Authors Notice**

I'm really sorry about the late update again. I did actually have one reader who requested that I updated sooner, which I was going to do, however, there was a personal problem which came up, and I really delayed it. I had written the majority of it (apart from the ending), which is why I couldn't publish it beforehand. Anyway, a good family friend of ours passed away this last month, which is the reason for the late update - as I didn't really feel like writing, as you probably may have guessed. However, I have written the ending now, and although it may not be up to my usual standards, I really felt that I couldn't delay you guys any longer. Thank you ALL SO MUCH for being so patient. You are the best, and your reviews and motivation is what has been keeping me writing, even when I didn't think that I could do it. For that, I want to say a HUGE thank you!

Anyway, less about me, and more about the chapter. As I said, the ending may not be of the same quality as the rest of this chapter (and previous chapters) so I just want to apologise for that. However, I still hope that you enjoy this chapter, even if you don't see as much of Adrian (Well, as much as I would have liked, anyway). **So please review!** It means so much to me to see what you guys think, and whether you are enjoying it or not! Thank you all so much for being so loyal! One more thing, there may be a few spelling/grammar mistakes in this chapter, which I haven't really picked up on properly, so I also want to apologise for that. If you see any, don't be afraid to point them out so I can correct them! Thanks :)

C x


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